The Best Christmas Ever
by Suppi-chan
Summary: The first Christmas of normality for Ken...


THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER  
A DIGIMON fic for MEIMI cos it's CHRISTMAS.  
  
Digimon is copyright all sorts of scary people with bunches of lawyers on leashes like Dobermans in Armani suits. I do not own them. I DO own this fic. Take and d13.  
  
----------  
  
Daisuke _bounced_.  
  
Ken was absurdly pleased with this observation. 'Bounce' was exactly the word for how Daisuke moved when he was excited, all energy and glee, and he was very excited now.  
  
"It's only [bounce] five days [bounce] until Christmas [bounce], Ichijouji! Aren't you [bounce] excited?"  
  
Ken considered this. It would be the first year when he wasn't wrapped up in pain and hatred and grief over the memory of his brother. Ken wondered what it would be like, to have a Christmas where his anger didn't make a silent fourth to the holiday. So far the main difference he had observed was a curiously relaxed and hopeful feeling.  
  
"I think so," he said finally.  
  
Daisuke bounced to a halt and gaped at him. "You THINK you are?" he bellowed. "What kind of Christmas spirit is THAT?"  
  
"The only type I have," said Ken.  
  
There was a small silence and Daisuke looked horribly guilty. Ken cursed himself. Whenever it seemed like things were going really well, he had to screw it up _somehow_. "It's all right," he said. "I know what you meant. It's just that this is the first Christmas after -- after everything, and I'm not sure what normal Christmases are like yet."  
  
Daisuke relaxed. "And it's going to be a great one, too!" Somehow, Daisuke could make words that should have been trite and meaningless sound right and true. "Cos you got your family and Wormmon and us now!"  
  
And you, thought Ken. And especially you.  
  
---  
  
Ken looked up from his book to Wormmon, wedged between the wall and Ken's side. It didn't look very comfortable to Ken, but Wormmon seemed perfectly happy. "Wormmon, what do you want for Christmas?"  
  
Wormmon looked up at him. "Christmas, Ken-chan? What's that?"  
  
"Err..." said Ken. He knew what Christmas _was_, of course, but explaining it was something else. "Well, Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, and everybody gives each other presents. And I read somewhere that the holiday started because everybody was so glad that the Solstice had come and the sun had returned."  
  
"Oh," said Wormmon, thoughtfully.  
  
"So, what do you want?" asked Ken again. He felt stupid even asking -- what could you give a Digimon? -- but he wanted to give Wormmon _something_.  
  
Wormmon pondered a moment more and then looked up happily. "Ken-chan! I want Ken-chan!"  
  
Ken fell off the bed.  
  
---  
  
"I still don't know how we got picked to do the shopping," growled Daisuke.   
  
Ken wasn't quite sure himself. One minute they had been happily making lists for the party, and the next he had found himself shoved into his coat and out the door with Daisuke howling bloody murder beside him. He vaguely remembered something about "Ken-kun has such TASTE~! -- and Daisuke can carry things" coming from Miyako and Hikari's direction, but he wasn't sure. Probably nobody else had wanted to go out into the snow. "It doesn't matter, does it? Someone has to do it, and it might as well be us."  
  
Daisuke scowled and kicked a lump of snow. He brightened suddenly. "Who cares? Christmas is such fun, isn't it?"  
  
"Yeah," agreed Ken. Especially this year.  
  
"You get the day off school--"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"-- and there's lots to eat --"  
  
"Uh, yeah."   
  
"-- and you get presents!"  
  
Ken stared at Daisuke, and then sighed. He felt more like laughing or groaning. "Daisuke, what are you talking about?"  
  
"Huh?" Daisuke looked clueless, an expression he wore rather well.  
  
"In foriegn countries, Christmas is their most important holiday," said Ken, neatly evading a large lump of snow falling off a store-awning.  
  
"Uh-huh," said Daisuke, nodding vigorously.  
  
"So they go to church and pray," explained Ken, pointedly.  
  
Daisuke looked struck. "Dude."  
  
Ken looked at him sideways. "Shouldn't you have known that already?"  
  
By the time Daisuke worked that out and bellowed "HEY!", Ken was already out of snowball range.  
  
---  
  
"Is that it?" demanded a large pile of packages with Daisuke's legs. The pile of packages had once been Daisuke, but he had taken Hikari's command to carry everything more seriously than probably even she had intended. That was Daisuke for you.  
  
"I think so," said Ken. He looked down at the list. "Streamers, balloons, cookies, candy, paper plates, paper cups, drink mix, bows, paper, ribbon --"  
  
"Next year," growled Daisuke, "THEY are going to do the shopping and WE are going to sit at home drinking cocoa and laugh at them."  
  
  
Ken laughed, and Daisuke looked pleased. He never said so, but he seemed to think that Ken should laugh more than he did. Ken looked down at the list, and Daisuke shifted the packages, and looked, too.  
  
They both saw it at the same time.  
  
"AUGH!"  
  
An elderly lady gave them a strange look and hurried on. They ignored her.  
  
"WHY are COMPUTER GAMES on this list?" howled Daisuke. "What the hell do they think we are, a shopping service?"  
  
"Maybe they want to play them at the party?" said Ken, doubtfully.  
  
Daisuke growled and mumbled something that Ken pretended not to hear. The mention of 'shopping service' had reminded him of something. "I hate to do this to you, but you can get this back by yourself, right?"  
  
"Huh?" It occured to Ken that making Daisuke look confused deliberately was probably a character flaw, and he should stop, but it was much too funny making him look utterly befuddled to stop doing it.  
  
"Thanks, man," he said, grinning at the speechless Daisuke. "I knew you could."  
  
"Wha -- Wait -- Ichijouji! What the HELL --"  
  
"It's all right," said Ken, enjoying himself hugely. "I'll meet you with everybody tomorrow, ok?"  
  
"It's NOT okay!" bellowed Daisuke. "Ken, you rat-faced little --"  
  
Ken knew when to get out. "See you tomorrow!"  
  
"WAIIIIIIIT! KEEEEEEEN~!"  
  
Ken fled, Daisuke's wails following him. He'd have to wear something snowball-proof tomorrow, if he knew Daisuke, but still --  
  
It was going to be the best Christmas ever.  
  
He just knew it.  
  
---30---  
  
12/17/01  
  
The situation at the end of the fic is based on "Daisuke to Ken Kaimono Carol", and yes, they really do go shopping for the Christmas party, the others really DO put computer games on the list, and Ken really does run off and leave Daisuke with all the stuff to carry. XD   
  
Merry Christmas, Meimi! And I hope I didn't screw up the characters too badly. _ 


End file.
